What Awaits
by Evil Gal Pearl
Summary: Life wasn't easy, and neither is what comes after.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Albino Alligator or any of the characters or other things associated with it. I don't intend to make any money from this.

**Author's Note: **If you are planning to review, please read my profile first. Also, this story is set about two weeks after the bar incident and is a sequel to Entwined , though I think it makes sense on its own as well.

**What Awaits**

Dova had always been the responsible one, but he was more confused about what should be done than he could ever remember being before. Milo was sticking close to him, following his lead to an extent that he was beginning to find disturbing. He wouldn't do the slightest thing without glancing anxiously at Dova first, as if to ask permission. Or maybe to ask if it was safe. Left to himself he would back up against a tree or a wall and stay there, not moving until Dova came back or Law bullied him into moving far enough to find another tree or wall. He barely spoke, and when they were around people he kept flicking his eyes from side to side in a way that made Dova afraid he was going to bolt. Milo hated being dead.

Law seemed to have gone the opposite direction, which was perfectly fitting now that he thought about it. Law was having a ball. He never missed an opportunity to mess with the living. Not that there was much he could do, which was a very lucky thing for his victims. Now that he didn't have to worry about the police, Dova thought he might really hurt someone if he could. Someone other than Milo.

Could he still beat Milo up? Dova stopped in his tracks for a second at this thought, and Milo instantly froze behind him. Law paused and looked at him expectantly. "Nothing", he muttered, and started walking again, but he was troubled.

Milo had tolerated the results of his frequent arguments with Law fairly well, in most cases at least. That time Law had used his pocketknife on him, Milo had been out-of-sorts for over a week: surly and uncooperative one moment, apathetic and barely responsive the next. Then one day he had just been himself again, and Dova had secretly thanked a god he didn't really believe in anymore. Other than that, Milo had always preferred to pretend nothing had happened, and Dova had been more than willing to play along.

Now, though…

_Trust Milo to go insane at a time like this_, he thought in anger, and then instantly felt like a cad.

He tried to guess what could be upsetting the other so much. It was different, that was for sure. He felt almost weightless, yet after the first few disorienting minutes, he had found that he could walk quite easily on the ground. He'd been morbidly sure the first good gust of wind would blow them all away, but he'd barely felt it when it came.

They couldn't eat or drink. Law had thrown a mini tantrum when they found out about that, stomping around and cursing and quite ineffectually kicking trees. In the old days, Milo would have found that amusing.

They seemed to be completely alone. Live people couldn't see or hear them, and they'd seen no other ghosts. Dogs sometimes stared at them or growled, but that was pretty much it. It was just the three of them.

Dova didn't think that was the problem, though. Their mother had died more than two decades ago, Dova's father a few years after that. Milo's dad had run off before he was born. No great loss.

Although Law occasionally mentioned his mother, and always with positive, if entirely casual, connotations, in the more than a decade the three had been together Dova had never seen him visit her or write to her or call her. He wasn't entirely sure she existed. The way Law was, she might have been pure shadows, just a convenient sort of figure of speech. Or perhaps she was long dead. He had never spoken of any other family.

In many ways, the three of them had always been on their own. Being a ghost was strange, but it wasn't anything to get so worked up about.

"You stay here, Milo", he said. "We'll be back in a minute." He tried to make his tone as reassuring as possible, but from the look Milo gave him he might just as well have said, "You go find a gator-infested swamp and dive right in, because we'll _never_ be back."

Then Milo dropped his gaze and hunched his shoulder in that way he had when he was pretending everything was fine. "Alright."

Dova gestured to Law, and the two of them walked on until they were a couple hundred yards away and Dova judged they were out of earshot. He stopped and turned to Law. Before Dova could begin, Law rolled his eyes and said, "I ain't gonna hit him."

"You better mean that. He's…well, something's wrong with him."

"Yeah. Runt didn't die well."

"What ya mean? Of course he did!" Dova exclaimed defensively. "Anyway, this is a damn stupid time to be complainin' because he couldn't kill people."

"Tha's not what I meant, boss. Touchy, ain't ya?"

At Dova's impatient look, he shrugged and continued.

"I got shot in tha back. Didn't even know it was happenin' til it already had. And I guess you was too preoccupied with us. Wanted ta look after us, didn't ya? Fuckin' boy scout to the end."

"Get to the point."

"Now, Milo, he died alone. Ya pulled a gun on him, threatened to shoot him. And ya know how squeamish he is about whackin' people. He went out knowin' we was gonna kill them hostages. Then I guess the first thing he got ta see as a ghost was me n' that hick n' the Canadian get killed. Ain't been right since."

"He should be over that by now. It's been almost two weeks!"

"Maybe dyin's made ya stupid. How ya feelin' right now, boss?"

"Worried about my brother."

"Besides that!"

Dova thought about it. "I don't know. Kinda tired, sorry you guys died, relieved to be with you both again."

Law snorted in disgust at that last and muttered, "Sissy." Then he said in a more normal tone, "Right now I'm feelin' alert, on edge. I wanna fight someone. It's like something big is always just about ta happen. 'Cuz tha's how we died, get it? What kinda crap ya think he's feelin'?"

"Shit."

"Yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Albino Alligator_ universe, and I'm not planning to make any money off of it.

**Author's Note:** If you're planning to leave a review, please see the note in my profile first. Might save you some time.

"We should find a house."

"Why?" Dova asked disinterestedly.

"Well ain't that what ghosts are supposed ta do?" With a stab of irritation, Law slowed his pace yet again to match Dova. Hell, might as well talk to the friggin' _trees_. Only thing Dova seemed able to pay attention to was his damn brother, who was even _further_ behind.

"Maybe we should head toward the light", Dova said colorlessly, supposing that some response other than "uh-huh" was expected. He really had more important things to think about right now, and he would have thought Law would realize that.

His half-hearted suggestion had a startling effect on his companion. Dova found himself slammed hard against a tree. _ So ghosts do feel pain_, a distant part of his mind noted.

"Fuck that! No fuckin' way!" Law looked furious and at the same time panicky. In a word, dangerous. Quickly overcoming his surprise at this rather extreme reaction, Dova responded in much the same way as he would have if a supposedly friendly dog had suddenly growled at him. He shoved Law hard and spoke in a loud, threatening tone, almost yelling.

"Hey! Back the fuck off!" Somewhat to his relief, Law obeyed. "Don't you fuck with me, Law. Last thing in the world you wanna do. Got it?"

"Yeah, fine, sorry", Law muttered. Milo had caught up with them by now, and the three resumed walking. They were heading back to the truck, but only to have a direction to move in. Dova was worried about Milo. Though he insisted he was alright, he was acting like he had that time Law had marked him: withdrawn, apathetic. He wasn't shadowing Dova anymore, but he still wasn't himself. And he'd developed a habit of rubbing at his wrists, where those awful cuts were. They didn't bleed (Dova didn't think he could have dealt with that), but in all other respects they looked like he'd just finished using the pocket-knife on himself. Dova guessed they were never going to heal.

He laid a hand on Milo's arm to get his attention, because his brother startled easily these days. "Do they hurt?" he asked, glancing at the cuts and ignoring Law's derisive snort.

"No", Milo said in his new toneless voice, and Dova dropped his hand to his side, at a loss. They walked on in silence.

***

"Well, here we are, boss", Law said in a tone of laconic amusement. He waved a hand at the beat up old truck. "Which way do you want to walk now?"

It was getting dark. They had roamed the swamps for over three weeks now, occasionally venturing into the city. They always slept in the truck. Dova had found that they could go days without getting tired. Probably they could have given up sleep altogether, but old habits die hard.

"Which way do you want to go, Milo?" Dova asked pointedly, because so often the only way to deal with Law was to pretend you didn't hear him.

Unexpectedly, Milo replied. "I think Law's right. We should find a house."

"Sure", Dova said, grinning. _Yes!_ First time he'd offered an opinion on anything since Dova had shot himself. He slapped his brother on the back, holding in a laugh because if Law rolled his eyes anymore they'd probably turn right round in his skull.

Milo jerked away from him and then slowly turned his gaze on Dova. Dova took a quick step back. His eyes looked _funny_. Empty, but… not. Then it was gone. So was the hint of his old personality that had come with the suggestion. He was back to total detachment.

His good mood suddenly gone, Dova said shortly, "We'll find a house tomorrow. I'm going to sleep." He climbed into the bed of the pick-up and stretched out, not caring whether or not they followed. After a moment, both did.

Dova's last thoughts before drifting off were that finding a house might be a good idea after all. It would be nice to have a roof over his head again. And maybe once they were in a house Milo would snap out of it. Things could go back to how they used to be. It had been screwed up in some ways, but it had been a brand of screwed up he knew how to deal with. Not like the way things were now. So thinking, he fell asleep.

Law didn't sleep at all. Through the ever-present tension he felt, something else was stirring. Ignoring the feeling only made it worse. But every time he tried to identify it, suddenly he wasn't just tense but out and out wired. Unable to lie still, he spent several hours pacing in circles around the truck. An hour or so before dawn, the feeling vanished and Law gratefully climbed into the truck bed and rested.

Milo slept soundly through the night. But it was fortunate for Dova that he never woke up and looked at his sleeping brother, and that Milo awoke shortly before him the next morning. Because Milo was sleeping with his eyes wide open, and sometime during the night that peculiar not-quite-emptiness had leaked back into them. Had Dova seen that, he might have been disturbed. Or he might have been rather badly frightened.

***

The next morning they set out towards the city. Dova was in a good mood. Milo was quiet as ever, but he was keeping up with them today. Dova couldn't say why, but he had a strong feeling that Milo was going to get better quickly now. They were past the crisis, if there had ever been a crisis at all. He'd always worried too much about Milo, and probably he had just been over-reacting. He gave his brother a friendly smile. _It's fine if you don't want to talk. Everything's fine. _He turned his attention to Law. "What kind of house do you want? You wanna go traditional- decrepit and cobwebbed?"

"Some place with people."

"Yeah, that could be fun", Dova agreed, smiling.

"Are you insane?" Milo said loudly. "You know what he's like. Spent years trying to keep him away from people, and now you want to move him into some stranger's house?"

"Take it easy, Milo. It's okay. We're ghosts."

"Goddamnit, I _know_ that! But he's still a sociopath. He's got all the restraint of a rabid dog."

Law seemed to take that as a compliment. He gave Milo a slanted grin.

"I don't think he can do anything, though."

"Ain't true, boss. I can still do plenty", Law put in, staring at Milo.

"See?" Milo said to Dova. "Come on, you know I'm right. Getting shot dead hasn't changed him at all. He still needs a friggin' keeper."

"Carry on all ya want, but I'm not the one that cut his own wrists as soon as his brother's back was turned."

"Go to hell."

"That's enough! Both of you just shut up and let me think." Dova walked on, thinking he could practically feel them glaring at each other as they followed. That was fine. It wasn't Milo's nature to get physical, and Law wouldn't dare, not while he was present.

It was something of a mystery to Dova why Law listened as well as he did. He had his good points, and Dova honestly considered him a true friend. But there was no denying that he had a mean streak a mile wide running through him. He was a bully, prone to violence, and he had a hair-trigger temper that he couldn't seem to control. He also had a problem with authority, which was why he'd never been able to hold a job for more than a few months. Yet, he nearly always obeyed Dova for some reason. Dova had an uneasy suspicion that he might remind Law of someone, someone even meaner and more dangerous than Law himself. But whatever the reason behind it, Dova also knew that that obedience was the only thing that made being near him safe.

If Dova insisted, Law would abide by his decision. But he'd be sullen and resentful for god knew how long. On the other hand, if he gave in and did what Law wanted Milo would adhere to _that_ decision. And Milo never sulked. So only one decision really made sense, right?

"We'll find a house with people. From what I've seen, Law can't do anything to the living anyway. And if he can, who cares? What are they gonna do, call the police?"

"Someday he's going to turn on you, Dova." Having said this, Milo fell back to follow the other two at a distance. There was nothing more he could do. The only time he had made any serious attempt to go against one of Dova's decisions, Dova had threatened to kill him. Sure, his brother had apologized, but that didn't change facts. Afraid that they would leave him alone, he silently followed them into the latest distaster.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Albino Alligator_ universe, and I don't intend to make any money off of it.

**Author's Note:** If you're planning to leave a review, please see my profile first. Might save you some time.

The house Dova chose was an old, slightly dilapidated two-story. The paint was peeling and the five wooden steps leading up to the porch looked like they might rot through at any time. But for all that, it did have a certain appeal. Sure was a lot bigger than the place they had lived in before. There was an old pick-up in the drive-way and a couple of those pink flamingos on the lawn, slowly fading towards white.

Dova hesitated at the bottom of the steps, unable to shake the feeling that someone was going to come bursting out the front door at any moment and tell them to get the hell off his property. Milo and Law stopped a few paces behind him.

After a moment, it was Law who ascended the steps and reached for the doorknob. And jerked his hand back in shock. "What the hell-" He reached for the knob again, and this time all three of them saw his hand pass right through it. "Boss?" he said in a tone that made Dova quickly climb the stairs to stand next to him. Dova tried the knob himself, with the same results.

"Try going through the door", Milo said quietly. He was still standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking like he wished he were anywhere else.

Dova laid a hand flat on the door and pushed. It was solid. "You try it, Law."

Law gave the door a light thump with his shoulder, backed down the stairs and past Milo, and then charged forward. He actually went about halfway through the door before being flung back down the stairs. He scrambled to his feet, sending a hostile glance in Milo's direction. "Can't get in there, boss. Felt like falling inta a damn lake in January."

"Any other ideas, Milo?"

Milo didn't answer for a long moment. He glanced around quickly, nervously. He was rubbing the marks on his wrists again. Finally he said, "I think I know how to get in. But I don't think we should, Dova. Let's just leave."

"It's going to be alright, Milo. Try to relax."

"Can't."

Dova sighed. "I know. Listen, things are gonna get better." Realizing how lame that sounded, he rushed on. "How do we get in?"

"Alright, then. We have to wait until the living ones get home. Or come out."

"Then what?"

"Then we can go in. If that's what you want."

After that, Milo wouldn't say anymore. He stopped talking altogether. After a while, Dova gave up in exasperation and went to join Law, who was sitting on the porch steps.

"I'd kill someone for a cigarette", Law said casually. Dova thought that wasn't much of an exaggeration. Still, the statement surprised him a bit. He hadn't had a smoke since the night he'd died, of course. And for the other two it would have been even longer. They'd all been forced to go cold turkey, but he himself hadn't felt any cravings.

"You think Milo will be able to get us in?" he asked.

"Damned if I know." Law hesitated, the said, "He's acting strange, ain't he? I mean, when he's not being a whiny little coward. That's normal enough."

Dova gave him a hard look, but didn't say anything.

They sat together in silence, while Milo stood some distance away. He didn't move at all, just stood there with his head bowed. And soon Dova began to feel uneasy. Beside him, Law shifted restlessly. Law started to get up and Dova said, "Leave him alone." Law made a quiet sound that was close to a growl, but he sat down again. Dova was casting about for something to distract him when a silver station wagon pulled into the drive.

Old habits die hard, and Dova vaulted off the steps and crouched on the side of the porch opposite the drive-way, wondering for a second how best to keep the home-owner from seeing him. Then he felt incredibly foolish as Law stood up slowly, leered at the car, and descended the steps to join him with a laconic grin. "Jumpy, ain't cha?"

"Alright", Dova said grumpily, standing up and still feeling absurdly exposed. They stood by the steps in plain view of the people getting out of the car: a woman, a man, and a boy of maybe five or six wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt. But, Dova suddenly noticed, Milo was doing them one better. He was actually walking towards the family.

Milo approached them slowly, so they were halfway to the porch before he overtook them. Then he spoke to the kid. He spoke softly, and Dova didn't catch his words, but the kid stopped and turned to look up at Milo. The kid's mother turned at the bottom of the steps, less than two feet from where Dova and Law were standing, and called, "Come on, Toby. It's lunchtime."

The boy, Toby, glanced at her and then looked back at Milo. Milo crouched down so he was more or less at the boy's eye-level and spoke again. Toby laughed, and his reply was loud enough for Dova to catch. "Yeah, I'm Donatello!"

"Now, Toby!" his mother called with a hint of impatience. Milo stood up and waved, and Toby waved back and ran into the house giggling.

Once they were inside, Dova said, "What was that all about?"

"You going in for babysittin' now?" Law jeered.

Milo didn't reply. He climbed the stairs and then stopped. When he spoke, he sounded tired and upset, but otherwise normal. "Well, come on then." And he walked through the door without opening it.

Dova and Law just stared after him for a moment. Then Law said, "Damned if he didn't do it. Well, boss?"

Dova went inside, and Law followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the _Albino Alligator_ universe, and I don't intend to make any money off of it.

**Author's Note:** If you are planning to review, please see my profile first. Might save you some time.

They found Milo in the hallway. "Can they see you now? Can the kid see you?" Dova asked.

"He can't right now. We could still leave."

"Hey, it's gonna be alright."

"No, it isn't!" Milo stopped and took a deep breath, visibly struggling to calm down. When he continued, he voice was quiet and even, and if you weren't listening for it, it would have been easy to miss the undercurrent of fear. "We can come and go here now, but if we stay it's going to get bad. The way I got in- there's a price. I don't know what it is, but I know we don't want it. I don't want it."

"What are you talking about? All you did was talk to the kid. Got him to invite us in or something. You didn't hurt him or even scare him. What could be so horrible about that?"

Milo shook his head, but didn't say anything. His eyes were on the floor. Dova stared at him in consternation for a moment, then took his arm and led him into the first room he came to, which looked like a playroom. As they went, Dova cast a meaningful look back at Law. _Stay there._

Once they were alone, Dova turned to Milo and saw that he was looking around the room nervously.

"Listen to me, Milo. I wouldn't lie to you. You know that?"

"Yeah."

"Good. What you're feeling isn't real. 'Cause of… because of the way you died. I'm so sorry about that. You believe me, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Milo managed a slight smile. "Wasn't your fault."

Dova gave him a grateful look and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Just try to keep it together, okay? I've got everything under control."

"You usually do." Milo's voice held just the barest hint of sarcasm. Then, before Dova could reply, "Better check on Law, then."

Law wasn't in the hall. After some searching, they found him in the basement. The basement was unfinished, with bare concrete floors and piles of labeled boxes in the corners. Two small windows just above ground level gave it a weak natural light. Law was standing in the center of the large, open room, looking around. He turned at the sound of their footsteps on the stairs, an easy grin on his face. In this light, the effect was rather like the grin of a black mastiff that comes wandering out from behind a bush as you're hiking through the woods by yourself.

"Reckon we could stay here. Beats the hell out of sleeping in that old truck."

"Happy with the basement, huh? Sure you don't want to go claim their bed?" Milo asked scathingly.

Law's eyes flashed angrily, and before Dova realized what was happening he was across the room and had knocked Milo down. Dova started towards them to break it up-

And then everything disappeared. The world went black, then started to flash red and white. A high, insectile whine filled his ears, drilled into his head, drove him to the ground. It was indescribable. It was hell. What else could it be? They had been here all along, _god_, they would be here forever. He began to scream, and couldn't hear himself over that hideous whine.

Days later, Dova found himself lying on the floor of somebody else's basement. He didn't move. There was silence for the moment, and he had never been more scared. When it started again, it would be unbearable.

"Still wanna head toward the light?"

Dova steeled himself and fearfully opened his eyes. It _looked_ okay, now. Dova had always been the level-headed one, he'd had to be. So, minutes after the most nightmarish experience he had ever endured, he carefully sat up and figured out who was speaking.

It was Law, of course. Only made sense that Law would be here in hell, too. "What just happened?"

Law didn't reply. He was pacing, and from where Dova sat on the dusty floor he couldn't tell if Law was muttering to himself or just growling. The air was crackling around him, almost sparkling. An old and ugly glass vase flew across the basement and shattered against the cinderblock wall. Dova jumped, but Law didn't even glance towards it. A folding table fell over with a crash.

"Law, stop it!" Dova yelled as a holiday popcorn tin clattered across the floor. From the shadows, Milo watched silently. Just then the door at the top of the stairs opened. The woman who lived here came rushing down, clutching a broom.

"Damn raccoons! Git! Go on, _git_!"

Law cast a single, furious look at her, and a pair of boots took flight. One hit her square in the face, and she screamed and stumbled on the stairs.

"_Goddamnit, Law, you stop_!" Dova headed toward his sociopathic friend, having no idea what he meant to do.

Shrieking, the woman half-ran, half-crawled up the stairs and slammed the door behind herself. There was an audible _clack_ as she locked it.

For a moment, all was silent and still. Then Dova said, "What the fuck, Law? Why would you do that?"

"I don't know. She shoulda stayed upstairs. She called me a raccoon. Come on, what's the big deal?"

"Might as well try to explain algebra to dog. He ain't capable of understanding why you don't throw a fucking _boot_ at a _woman_", Milo said.

"Be quiet", Dova said reflexively. He ran a hand through his hair. "Can you control that? I mean, can you always throw things? Without touching them?"

"I don't know." Law hesitated, then admitted, "No. Not yet, anyway."

"Well, just leave the woman alone. And the kid."

"I ain't gonna hurt the kid", Law said sulkily. "Christ, what kind of sicko you think I am?"


End file.
